J. Hatfield: Jeremiah Hatfield, Travis Egnor, Tim Dorsey, Justin Puett.

Genre Style: Folk Rock.

Location: Charleston, West Virginia.

How did the project start? 
This project started as a result of Covid lockdowns. I’ve been playing in bands for the last 10 years but never took the time to work on music I had written. I was working with Greg McGowan at Rose City Recording on some studio sessions and when everything shut down I was out of gigs and he was out of recording sessions so we continued on and used the time to our advantage to work up these songs.

What are three adjectives to describe your style?
Earthy, restless, ambient

Walk us through your creative process. Does it vary, if so, how? 
It usually starts with one line or one chord progression. I’ll record a voice memo on my phone of the new idea then throughout the next few days I’ll revisit it and get it stuck in my head and build on it from there. It also varies sometimes. The song “Maryann” was written in one evening. I had one progression and the first line came up, then I just kept whittling at it until I was happy with the way the story was told.

How has your art evolved since you started?  
It’s always evolving. The songs all started on an acoustic and very earthy but then when playing with the band things sometimes go a little more spacey and ambient. The desired evolution is to find that perfect balance between the earthy and the ambient.

What is your favorite creative tool, and why? 
Definitely my guitar pedals. It gives me a chance to really set a certain mood or find inspiration. It’s nice to be able to layer certain textures and sounds that fit the song.

What about being an artist fills your cup? Why should others take interest in the arts? 
It’s the ability to create something. Having an idea then figuring out how to bring that thing to life. It’s therapeutic and it’s a great way to get certain feelings out in a healthy way.

Any advice for new or struggling artists? 
Don’t quit. There will always be things that try to stand in the way and part of the accomplishment is getting past the hurdles trying to keep you from doing your art. It’s a great feeling to finish something and look back and say despite this or that I was able to create something.

What upcoming project should we look for, and where can we look for it? 
With everything starting to open back up, show offers have been starting to come in regularly. Right now, we’re focusing on getting the songs tightened up and hashed out for the live setting. To keep up to date on everything we’re doing, you can follow J. Hatfield Music on Facebook and Instagram. On YouTub, you can search J. Hatfield and my channel has some live and  lyric videos I’ve put together.

What question do you never get asked that you would like to be asked?  How would you answer? 
Is Bigfoot real?
Absolutely. . .